Documenting behavioral responses of fishes to human-made sound is an important step towards estimating the population-level consequences of such disturbances. Seismic surveys are a major contributor to low-frequency, anthropogenic sound in offshore environments and have the potential to cause behavioral responses of fishes across large areas. In a series of controlled exposure experiments, acoustic telemetry was used to track the behavioral responses of Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) to real seismic sources used in geophysical surveys. Cod were exposed to airguns and a marine vibrator during the spawning season and a sparker source after the spawning season. The exposures mimicked the sound levels of moderately distant seismic surveys over several days. Reactions of cod to these sources were minor or undetectable, with none of the exposures causing cod to leave the area. Cod reacted slightly more to the continuous sound produced by a marine vibrator than intermittent sound from airguns at the same sound exposure level. Cod did not react to sound from a sparker, which mainly produces sound energy above the cod hearing range. The results from these experiments are directly applicable to scientific advice for management of sound-producing human activities at sea.

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Comparison of Behavioral Responses of Atlantic Cod (Gadus morhua) to Three Types of Seismic Survey Source

  • Kate McQueen,
  • Tonje Nesse Forland,
  • Babak Khodabandeloo,
  • Lise Doksaeter Sivle

摘要

Documenting behavioral responses of fishes to human-made sound is an important step towards estimating the population-level consequences of such disturbances. Seismic surveys are a major contributor to low-frequency, anthropogenic sound in offshore environments and have the potential to cause behavioral responses of fishes across large areas. In a series of controlled exposure experiments, acoustic telemetry was used to track the behavioral responses of Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) to real seismic sources used in geophysical surveys. Cod were exposed to airguns and a marine vibrator during the spawning season and a sparker source after the spawning season. The exposures mimicked the sound levels of moderately distant seismic surveys over several days. Reactions of cod to these sources were minor or undetectable, with none of the exposures causing cod to leave the area. Cod reacted slightly more to the continuous sound produced by a marine vibrator than intermittent sound from airguns at the same sound exposure level. Cod did not react to sound from a sparker, which mainly produces sound energy above the cod hearing range. The results from these experiments are directly applicable to scientific advice for management of sound-producing human activities at sea.